Poll: Toronto mayoral candidate Rob Ford maintains 6-point lead

Toronto
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A new poll suggests that Toronto mayoral candidate Rob Ford is holding a steady lead over rival George Smitherman. The telephone survey shows Ford maintaining a 6-point lead, but Smitherman has made significant strides in the Greater Toronto Area.

Toronto voters will elect the new mayor of the city in 10 days and the latest polls show that it is a very tight race between Rob Ford and George Smitherman. The next week will be crucial for both candidates.

General outlook

According to a new survey from Forum Research, Ford has 44 percent of the vote compared to Smitherman’s 38 percent and Joe Pantalone increased his support from 11 percent to 16 percent. A significant statistic, though, is the number of undecided voters: 16 percent.

Even though Ford holds a 6-point lead out of the three candidates, when Pantalone is taken out of the equation, the frontrunner’s lead shrinks to only one percent. Also, the number of undecided voters increases to 18 percent.

When breaking down the key demographics, Ford is holding strong in Scarborough with 53 percent of the vote versus Smitherman’s 30 percent. However, Smitherman has increased his support in both North York (42 percent) and Etobicoke-York (39 percent). The race is tight in Toronto East York but Smitherman has a slight edge over Ford by 1 percentage point.